Summer of 2010 Martin Factory Visit

It's not every day that you get to visit the Martin Guitar Factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. It's tucked away in a little town in Pennsylvania farmland. Going on a Martin factory tour and through their recently opened museum is a major highlight for many fans. The staff guided factory tour takes you through the whole building, passing through almost every area of construction. Once in a while, even Chris Martin himself will do a tour when he has a rare free moment. There are no ropes, but there are yellow lines on the floor, helping to guide the observers along. Pictures are allowed and you can closely observe craftspeople at their jobs.

I'm told that every year there is a small handful of authorized Martin warranty technicians who visit the factory and get to work directly with the Martin Repair Department. This year I was lucky enough to be one. For two days, I was able to step right past those yellow lines and into the hustle and bustle of the Martin guitar factory. I spent most of my time with three of eight repair staff there. Milt, Tracey and Dave let me observe their craft and take notes and ask questions. For this particular visit I wanted to focus on structural and finish repairs. I was able to spend some of my time with Milt, the structural repair expert there of 41 years. He does everything from small crack repairs to neck resets. Repairs in process are lined up behind him by the dozens, and he carefully and methodically attends to each one. He's in no rush, but can work quickly and effectively to keep on track. The repair staff at Martin are some of the most friendly and generous people I've met in the business, openly sharing with me their tips and tricks from working on thousands of Martin guitars over decades in their careers.

You never know who might show up at the factory. Last week Peter Frampton came by to order two new guitars to replace ones that were destroyed in the terrible Nashville flood. Milt proudly showed me two necks he was working on that were going on these new guitars. Steve Howe stopped in earlier in the week and The Counting Crows were expected in the next day or so. These guys get to meet and connect with so many famous musicians on a regular basis that it would make your head spin. They just take it in stride.

At the end of my time at Martin I was able to meet Chris Martin in person and shake his hand. Everyone at Martin was so great to work with and I can't thank them enough for letting me into their world for a couple of days. A special thanks to Carmen and Rob in Martin Customer Service, and Lon and the Martin Repair Department for all of their kindness.